Craft Site Directory Newsletter: February 2007
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SECTION 2):*~*: Walmart Discontinues Cut Fabric in Many Store Locations
Rumors that have been flying since late last year have been confirmed.
I walked into my local Walmart over the weekend to pick up some fabric and a few other items but when I reached the fabric department, all the shelves were empty except one rack containing about 8 or 9 bolts of clearance fabric. I asked the department manager if the other Walmart in town still carried fabric and was told, "Yes, but not for long." She informed me that the other Walmart in town would probably continue to carry fabric until the end of this year, but they too had plans to close down the cut fabric department. I left without purchasing anything and headed to Joann's instead. This required an additional hour of driving round trip through heavy traffic and I spent double what I would have expected to pay at Walmart for the same amount of fabric. In the end, I felt that the extra drive and higher prices were worth it because of the better selection of high quality fabric and great customer service I received. But, for many quilters and sewers, especially those on a fixed income, driving further and paying more for their fabric is not an option.
Many in the sewing and quilting community are outraged by this decision by Walmart and are encouraging people to call the Walmart headquarters at 1-800-Walmart, use the feed back form at Walmart.com(second link below), or sign this petition to voice their opinions. You can click on "view current signatures" to read comments left by others.
http://www.petitiononline.com/savefab/petition.html
http://walmartstores.com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate.do?catg=221
For some, particularly those in rural communities, Walmart is the only store in their area that carries fabric by the yard. One quilter complained that when Walmart moved into her area, locally owned fabric shops were forced out of business. Now if her local Walmart discontinues fabric by the yard, she would have to travel a long distance to make her fabric purchases.
Walmart apparently feels that the fabric department in their stores takes up too much space for the amount of revenue it generates. They plan to use the extra space for a new "crafts and celebrations center" focusing on things like weddings, holidays, and birthdays.
Not all quilters and sewers are upset by this decision and are glad that Walmart may be staying out of the fabric business. Many are hoping that this will prompt the opening of locally owned fabric shops that would otherwise not be able to compete with Walmart. Online vendors and those who currently own specialty fabric shops are also hoping to benefit from this change. While visiting Joann's over the weekend I was told by an employee that they have already been seeing a noticable increase in both fabric sales and overall sales since Walmart's closure of the fabric department and it's possible that they will be opening another store location that would be closer to my end of town.
Many don't like the idea of buying fabric online without being able to see it in person or feel it first, but it is an option if buying fabric locally becomes inconvenient as it did in my area. When buying online choose companies and brands that you are familiar with so you will know what to expect when you receive the fabric. Look for free shipping offers and sales to keep costs down. Before ordering, also check the site's return policy. You can find a variety of online fabric shops in the Craft Site Directory fabric category at:
http://www.craftsitedirectory.com/fabric/
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SECTION 1):*~*: What's New at CraftSiteDirectory.com?
SECTION 2):*~*: Walmart Discontinues Cut Fabric in Many Store Locations
Rumors that have been flying since late last year have been confirmed.
SECTION 3):*~*: Free Craft Projects for February
Links to craft project instructions that have been added to various websites this month.
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